It's A Wonderful Life
by lilly assbutt
Summary: "Dear George: Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Love, Clarence." Team Free Will Christmas! Castiel decides to celebrate Christmas for the first time, but has trouble deciding what to get Dean and Sam. (Set somewhere around season 8, before "Sacrifice")


Castiel gazed up at the tree that stood before him, admiring his work as he stood up, dusting his hands on his trench coat and taking a step back to get a better look. The tree was huge, about a foot taller than him and several feet wider, and engulfed in ornaments and small twinkling lights that illuminated the dimly lit room in a brilliant and serene glow. The star, (which Cas had to stand on tiptoes to place), was just as bright as the rest of the decorations and gave the tree a complete and, somehow, natural look to it. Castiel looked around the rest of the bunker -which he had decorated with colorful lights as well- and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards as he envisioned Dean and Sam's reactions to his hard work.

Castiel had never celebrated Christmas before, but witnessed for centuries as people came together with their loved ones to exchange gifts with one another and be joyous, so as the years passed he began to await effervescently for the said holiday to arrive. Although, it was very difficult to show excitement when his brothers and sisters shook their heads in disgust and cursed humans for praising another false idol, Santa Claus, and for coming up with another holiday to be greedy and selfish.

"Look at those incompetent fools grumbling on and on about not receiving specifically what they have asked for.", he remembered listening to Uriel a few centuries ago as he badmouthed humans. "They receive a gift everyday, their life, and that's not enough for them? They still feel the need to receive more even when they have not deserved it?" Uriel sneered and shook his head.

Cas, too weary to disagree, nodded along to everything Uriel said as if he agreed, and kept quiet about his secret delightment of the holiday. His siblings didn't seem to see Christmas the way Cas did. Castiel believed Christmas to be a wonderful time of year. He loved seeing all the beautiful decorations and enjoyed watching as people spent time with their loved ones, and tried to behave civil, but he always kept quiet about his inner delightment for the holiday around the other angels. So when he overheard Dean talk to Sam about wanting to have Christmas again this year he was more than happy to take it upon himself to make it happen.

So now here Cas was, standing in the beautifully decorated living room of the Man Of Letters' bunker on Christmas Eve while the boys were out on a hunt.

He had everything set up: decorations, eggnog (he saw it was customary), the tree, and even had pie set out on the table and cut into perfect slices, even though he knew Dean would probably be the only one eating it. Now all that was left to do was get a present for Sam and Dean.

Cas knew that the boys wouldn't mind if he didn't give them a present, but it was his first time celebrating Christmas and he wanted to show his gratitude to the boys.

88

Castiel glanced around at the huge crowds scurrying around the mall he just appeared in and tried, but failed, to avoid getting pushed and shoved around by the tired, yet powerful and annoyed, last minute shoppers.

As he continued to get pushed around he thought about what to get Dean and Sam. He wasn't completely sure on what an appropriate Christmas gift would be, but as he continued to be shoved around by the swarm of people, (they kind of reminded him of bees), he found himself standing in front of a small department store.

He peered in through the window and saw that it appeared to be empty, except for the cashier at the counter who was lazily flipping through a magazine and sipping from soda, so Castiel decided to enter.

The cashier, a petite blonde who appeared to be in her late 20's, looked up from her magazine as she heard the annoying jingle of bells that signified a customer. She set her magazine down and took a sip from her soda as she watched Castiel squint and look around the store.

He didn't seem to notice her, he was too busy picking up and inspecting a pair of heels now, so she took the time to slowly sweep her eyes over him, and silently sent a prayer of thanks for receiving an attractive customer.

Castiel turned towards her after her silent prayer, his head tilted and an eyebrow slightly raised, causing her to quickly straighten out and puff her chest out a little.

"Hey there, angel. Getting those for your girlfriend?" She nodded her head towards the heels Castiel had been looking at earlier.

Castiel moved on to inspect a rack full of plaid shirts and shook his head. "I do not have a girlfriend."

She sent another prayer of thanks -to which Castiel looked up at again- and smiled coquettishly at him as she took another sip from her soda. "Here to get something for your boyfriend?", she joked and twirled a long lock of hair through her fingers and leaned on her elbows across the counter.

"Boyfriends.", Castiel corrected as he continued to look at the rack full of plaid. He furrowed his eyebrows as he wondered whether or not that was the correct term to describe his relationship with Sam and Dean, but they _were_ male and they _were_ his friends, so Castiel internally shrugged.

The cashier giggled at his response, but as she studied his expression, she quickly shut up and stopped twirling the lock of hair. "Oh."

She felt her face heat up as Castiel sent her a questioning glance, and mentally chastised herself for not thinking of the possibility that he didn't play for her team, and hoped she hadn't somehow offended him.

"S-so, uh...", she cleared her throat uneasily, still ashamed of her earlier mistake, and continued, "is there anything I can help you with?"

Cas stayed quiet for a while as he continued to look through the plaid shirts until, finally, he grimaced and turned to her solemnly. "I'm not ... certain... on what the appropriate Christmas gift to give them would be." He looked up at her, eyes big, and looking like a child who was just told Santa was not real.

"Hey, it's okay, angel." She took a sip from her soda before walking over to him. "I'll help you find something for your, uh, boyfriends." She smiled reassuringly up at him and he nodded at her. "Now," she cracked her knuckles," any idea at all on what you want this present to be?"

Cas shook his head and grimaced, so she patted his shoulder. "Alright, different question. What do you want them to feel when they get the present?"

Castiel immediately answered. "I would like my present to bring them pleasure.", and judging from the look on her face, he wondered if he should have worded that differently as well.

She chuckled. "Well, honey, there's a completely different store for _that_."

Castiel tilted his head again and drew his eyebrows together. "Another store?"

She nodded and walked over to the counter where she grabbed a pen and a small piece of paper. "Mhm. Here, hun, I'll write down the name for you."

88

Cas looked down at the name of the store Bambi, the helpful cashier he had met earlier, sprawled neatly on the paper ,along with her phone number ("Just in case you change your mind or something.."), and back up at the store he was standing in front of. The windows, which were tinted black,, made it difficult for him to see what was inside, but judging by the name, 'Afternoon Delight-X', he was certain it was some type of pastry shop. So he wasn't sure why he was receiving weird stares from people passing by.

Cas checked the name on the paper once more, just to make sure he was at the correct store, and walked in.

The room was dimly lit, forcing Cas to squint his eyes to be able to see, and as he looked around he realized that this was certainly NOT like any pastry shop he had seen before, (and he had seen plenty, courtesy of Dean). It looked more like the place Dean had dragged Sam and him to that was full of young women walking around and dancing in their underwear. It also looked like some type of weird dungeon.

The wall to the right of him was filled with different types of ,what seemed to be, gag masks, handcuffs, whips, and many other weapons that varied from shape and color. He suspected those were used for torture purposes and wondered if Dean and Sam would be able to use them on demons and monsters in their newly found dungeon.

He continued to look around the store -the rest of the walls were covered with more torture weapons and weird outfits- until his eyes landed on curtain near the back that had a sign labeled "X" above it. He saw a man dressed in ,all black, leather emerge from behind the curtain and return to the counter. Much like Bambi, he too began to read a magazine, though this one looked oddly familiar to what he sometimes caught Dean staring at. He hadn't seem to notice him so Cas walked over and stood in front of the counter.

The cashier, his nametag said Jesse, didn't look up from his magazine. "Can I help you?"

Castiel nodded. "I need assistance on finding an appropriate present for my friends."

Jesse set his magazine down and looked up at Cas. "For Christmas?" He eyed Castiel up and down, and a sly smile spread through his face. "Kinky."

Castiel squinted at him, his face full of confusion. _What was a kink?_ "Bambi said you could help..?" He continued to stare at Jesse questioningly.

Jesse's smile got even bigger when he heard Bambi's name, and nodded. "Bambi sent you here, huh? Yeah, that girl is a regular here. Chick really knows what's she doing."

Cas nodded along. "So, you are able to help me?"

Jesse chuckled. "Oh, yeah." He eyed Cas again and nodded. "I can definitely help." Castiel shifted around, slightly uncomfortable with his stare, but felt weirdly reassured.

"So who's this present for? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Yourself?"

"Boyfriends."

Jesse's eyes widened slightly but he quickly had that sly smile back on his face.

"More than one? Oh yeah. I can see that." He leaned closer to Cas. "You into the rough stuff? Whips, handcuffs?"

Cas nodded. "You believe those will please Sam and Dean?"

Jesse chuckled and nodded. "Oh I'm sure Dean and Sam will be very pleased." He turned away to retrieve a couple whips, handcuffs, blindfolds, gag masks, and a couple more items from the wall behind him and turned back to show them to Cas. "Will these do the job?"

Cas stared at the equipment, envisioning them in the dungeon. "Yes. I believe these will contribute to Sam and Dean's work."

Jesse smirked. "I'm sure they will.", he said as he scanned the items and told Cas his total. Cas pulled out a credit card he had borrowed from Dean's room and handed it over to Jesse.

Jesse took the card and looked at the name before ringing it up, and gave Cas a questioning look.

"Walter Pinkman? Isn't that just.. Walter White and Jesse Pinkman mashed together?"

Cas didn't know who either of those people were or what Jesse was referring to. ".. No?"

He looked down at the items he bought and back up at Jesse. "Is there any chance you could wrap these for me?"

Jesse's smiled. "No problem, angel."

88

Castiel returned to the bunker with the neatly wrapped presents in one hand and a copy of _"It's A Wonderful Life"_, (Jesse told him it was a Christmas 'must have'), in the other.

He walked over to the tree and carefully set the gifts under, and took a step back to admire his work once more, he was very satisfied with how everything turned out, and turned to go sit down at the table to patiently wait for Sam and Dean to return from their hunt.

88

It was around 11:30 p.m. when he finally heard footsteps, and heard them slow to a stop. He continued to sit at the table patiently as he heard the hushed whispers of the boys.

"Dude, I think someone's in the bunker."

"You think?"

"Shut up. Come on."

He heard them both take out their handguns and start to walk carefully towards the room Cas was currently, and still patiently, waiting in. Then, they both burst through the doorway, and Cas admired how in sync and prepared they were.

"Cas, what the hell?"

"Hello, Dean."

Sam, who stood right behind his brother, looked around the glowing, twinkling room in awe.

"Sam." Cas nodded towards him in hello.

"Hey, Cas." He said surprised, and continued to look around the room in amazement, and turned back to him. "Did you do all this?"

Dean glanced around the room, his face just as amazed as his brother's and turned to look at Cas after Sam's question. Dean stared at Cas, astonishment written all over his face and Castiel nodded at Sam.

"Yes." He turned to Dean. "I heard you discussing with Sam how you wished to celebrate Christmas."

Dean continued to stare at Cas for a few more minutes -Sam rolled his eyes and continued to look around the room in amazement- until finally he spoke. "You did all this by yourself? For us?" Cas gave a small nod and Dean smiled. "It looks great, Cas."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Especially that", he pointed at the tree and walked towards it. Dean turned his gaze towards it and followed his brother, Cas trailing behind them.

"Wow, it's bigger than Sam!"

"And brighter than Dean!"

Dean glared at his brother, playfully shoving him away as Sam snickered.

"I also brought gifts." Cas said after a while of watching the boys playfully banter one another.

Sam looked over at Cas with an amusing smile. "Really?" Cas nodded and motioned for them to look under the tree.

"Awesome." Dean quickly knelt down and took them out from under, handing a couple over to Sam, and stood back up. "Can we open them?" Castiel nodded, and they both tore into them.

Dean almost started choking once he opened the present and looked down at the fuzzy handcuffs and long leather whip. Sam stayed quiet for a couple seconds until he burst out laughing, holding up the gag mask for Dean to see, and began to laugh harder as Dean's face began to get flushed.

Cas tilted his head to the side in confusion, worry starting to settle in his stomach. "Is there something... wrong?"

Dean picked up the whip and turned to look at the angel before him, his face a weird shade of red. "Cas.. where'd you get these gifts?!"

"A store at the mall with the name 'Afternoon Delight-X'. At first I believed it to be a pastry shop, but I quickly realized the equipment there would be suitable for your dungeon." He took the whip from Dean. "This one has an impressive grip."

Sam tried to stifle his laughter as Dean quickly took the whip back from Cas and set it down. "Uh, thank you, Cas. This will be perfect for the ... dungeon." He coughed awkwardly and gave a forced smile as he took the gag mask and blindfold away from Sam and set them down, too.

"Dean, may I ask something?"

"Sure, Cas, what is it?"

Castiel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What is a.. 'kink'?"

Sam doubled over, laughing even harder than before, as Dean's face began to turn red again. He turned and elbowed his brother in the side and told him to _Shut up!_, and turned to sternly point a finger at Cas. "You are not allowed to go to the mall by yourself anymore. Or enter any store that ends with the letter x."

Cas still didn't understand what was going on, but gave a small nod. "Alright."

Dean looked like he was ready to give him a lecture, but instead sighed and turned to look at Cas and smiled softly. "Thanks, Cas. For," he motioned around the room, "this."

Sam, who was still laughing, pat Cas' shoulder and thanked him as well. "It'll be great use for the dungeon." He snickered and Dean, again, told him to shut up.

Cas smiled softly and nodded in acknowledgment to their thanks. "I bought pie as well."

Dean's face immediately lit up, and Sam's laughter slowly started to subside as they followed Cas to the table. He handed them their slices, which they both took graciously, and began eating. Sam and Cas both looked at Dean, with amused expressions on their faces, as Dean practically inhaled his slice and reached for a second.

88

"Dude, that's like your tenth slice!"

"Twelfth", Dean corrected, his mouth full, and reached for another slice of pie. Sam shook his head amusingly and turned his attention back to the screen.

The trio was sat around the table comfortably, drinking eggnog as _"It's A Wonderful Life"_ played on the screen.

Cas silently gazed at Sam and Dean, who were both completely engrossed in the movie, and smiled. He didn't remember ever feeling so content and at home then at the moment, and he was so happy everything had gone well for a change.

"Something wrong, Cas?" Dean asked after a few minutes and watched him carefully as he reached for his next slice of pie. Sam glanced over at Cas, and tilted his head towards him as if to ask the same question.

Cas continued to smile and shook his head. "I'm just ... very happy at the moment." Sam smiled softly at Cas and turned his attention back to the movie.

Dean's eyes lingered on his for a while until finally he shook his head, grinned, and turned back to the movie as well. Castiel gazed between the two brothers once more, just to make sure this was all real and not some type of weird hallucination, before finally turning his attention back to the movie, feeling warmth spread over his chest.

_"Well, you look about the kind of angel I'd get. Sort of a fallen angel, aren't you? What happened to your wings?"_

_"I haven't won my wings, yet. That's why I'm called an Angel Second Class. I have to earn them. And you'll help me will you?"_

_"Sure, sure. How?"_

_"By letting me help you."_

_"I know one way you can help me. You don't happen to have 8,000 bucks on you?"_

_"No, we don't use money in Heaven."_

_"Well, it comes in real handy down here, bud!"_


End file.
